A comprehensive report of child care providers' perceptions of a statewide early care and education initiative

As the call to improve early care and education environments heightens across the United States, individual states have developed an array of approaches to enhance out-of-home care experiences for young children. As a part of the larger evaluation study of Kentucky's early childhood initiative, KIDS NOW, the current study gains perspectives from child care providers regarding their experiences with a comprehensive statewide early care and education initiative. Through a series of focus groups, child care providers highlighted their need for adequate information regarding the initiative as well as their varying perceptions of different types of initiative components. These findings highlight the need for continual stakeholder involvement as policy changes unfold within a state. Additionally, providers' perspectives on the implementation of the initiative underscore the complexity inherent to affecting change in early care and education.